Biologists and their maps agree: GRIZZLY BEARS are coming to southwestern Montana
WISDOM, Mont. — Dean Peterson, a rangy fourth-generation rancher with a handlebar mustache, is used to factoring in all sorts of challenges as he works his vast spread in the Big Hole Valley. Summer wildfires that can sweep down the pine-blanketed mountains to the west, harsh winters that can endanger his thousand-plus head of cattle.
Yet in the back of his mind these days is
a threat most of his forefathers
a threat most of his forefathers
never faced: grizzly bears. Settlers pushing
West had all but exterminated
West had all but exterminated
the hulking predators by the time
Peterson’s great-grandfather arrived
Peterson’s great-grandfather arrived
here in the late 1800s.
A year ago, however, a trail camera
in the nearby forest snapped a grainy
in the nearby forest snapped a grainy
photo of a grizzly crossing a stream,
marking the first confirmed sighting
marking the first confirmed sighting
in the valley in a century. Then in
May, Peterson was stunned to see one
May, Peterson was stunned to see one
lope across a snow-dusted road as
he drove a four-wheeler a few miles
he drove a four-wheeler a few miles
from his property.
BELOW IN DARK BROWN IS 2017
CURRENT DAY GRIZZLY HABITAT
CURRENT DAY GRIZZLY HABITAT
AND IN YELLOW IS THE HISTORIC
RANGE OF THE GRIZZLY PRE
RANGE OF THE GRIZZLY PRE
EUROPEAN CONTACT: A.D. 1500
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